In The Red
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: Along with her grandmother's neighbor Klaus, Caroline Forbes makes a journey into the woods to reach her grandmother's house, which she's agreed to take possession of so that her grandmother can move. But when they find her grandmother murdered, Caroline soon discovers she's not the only intended victim...and that her grandmother's killer isn't the only wolf around. One-Shot.


**Disclaimer: Only the plot and any original characters belong to me!**

"Okay, Grandma," Caroline Forbes told her grandmother. "I'll see you at your house tomorrow so I can start moving in. Are you absolutely sure you want to leave the place?"

"Oh, yes, dear," her grandmother reassured her. "I'm ready to get away from it all and move to a nice warm climate. Like Florida. I know you'll take good care of the old place, though. Which is why I'm more than happy to give it to you."

"Well, considering how long it's been in the family, I'm very touched. What time do you want me to come? Is any one time better than others?"

"I'll be home all day," her grandmother said. "But I would feel more comfortable if you were able to arrive before nightfall. I live just beyond the woods, you know. And I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you. In fact, I might send my neighbor to come and fetch you. He's a nice young man. It's been a while since you had a boyfriend, dear. Curly blond hair, blue eyes, lots of muscles. I think you'd like him."

"It's all right," Caroline reassured her. "I have pepper spray in my purse at all times and I'm taking a self-defense class right now." However, she promised her grandmother she'd make every effort to be at her house before dark the next day, ended the call, and continued with her work.

As should have been expected, Caroline's goal to get off work early was thwarted. She worked in real estate and one of her fellow realtors went home sick so she was given the task of showing a couple of his houses as well as her own and it was well after dark by the time she'd finished. Luckily, her grandmother knew this cause Caroline had called her, and although she'd still been worried, she'd understood.

* * *

After the house had been shown and the potential buyers had gone on their way, Caroline grabbed her red pea coat off the coat rack along with her straw-colored purse and some of the leftover cookies she'd baked to help draw people in to the house, headed toward her car, and was just about to get in when she saw a man in dirty jeans, boots, and a gray t-shirt approach the house.  
"Sorry," she said. "If you're here to look at the house, you're a bit late. I have to be somewhere else at the moment, but if you'll give me your name, I'll show you the place tomorrow." She looked at him and then at the dainty white cottage with the white picket fence around it and wondered why a guy like him would be interested in a place like that.

"Actually, I'm not here to look at the house," the man confessed. "My name's Klaus. We've met a couple of times, but you probably don't remember me. I'm your grandmother's neighbor. She sent me to come ride with you so you wouldn't be arriving at her house alone in the dark."

"Well, isn't that…totally like her?" Caroline got out and tried to smile at him. "Don't worry. I don't blame you. She mentioned she was going to send you, but I was silly enough to think she was joking." She headed to her car and got in the driver's seat, and stared at him as he stood next to it and hesitated. "You gonna get in or not?" She asked.

"Well, of course," Klaus nodded and bounded over the closed car door. "I just wasn't sure you wanted me with you or not."

"Since you're here on my behalf, the least I can do is make sure you get back home safe," Caroline told him and started the car.

They drove in silence for a little while and then Klaus asked, "So, are you just visiting your grandmother?"

"I'm actually buying her house," Caroline replied. "She wants to get it off her hands and move to Florida."

Klaus nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised. She invites me over for tea sometimes, and she talked about it the last time I saw her. Although I completely forgot about her pretty granddaughter." He smiled.

"Are you just trying to flatter me now?" Caroline asked. "I've been to her house several times. If you're her neighbor, my existence can't be that much of a surprise to you."

"Yes," Klaus admitted. "Yes, I am."

Caroline smiled and reached into her purse. "Have a cookie for your trouble. I brought them for Grandma cause it sounded like she had a cold, but it probably isn't good for her to have too many."

"Thank you," Klaus replied and took a cookie. "Chocolate chip?" He said through his bite. "You're very good at baking."

"I should be," Caroline replied. "It's one of the reasons I've sold so many houses. You fill the house with the smell of freshly baked cookies and people just clamor to buy."

"That's an interesting idea," Klaus replied. "You might need to use that same logic with your new house. All it smells like now is mildew and stale air with the scent of lavender trying to mask it, which is even more disgusting."

"Oh, I know," Caroline agreed. "Believe me." They continued on in silence until they reached the edge of the woods, when the car suddenly made a very alarming noise and ceased to move.

"Well, fuck!" Caroline swore. "I am _not_ happy about this." She looked at Klaus as they both got out and stared at the car in dismay. "You know anything about cars?"

Klaus looked it over and sighed. "I do, but in this particular instance, you'll need to replace a part. It's not a quick fix."

"Well, wonderful," Caroline replied and kicked it. "Useless hunk of metal." She gazed at him. "What do you think we should do now?"

"We can't do much, can we?" Klaus pointed out. "I'll push the car from behind and you walk ahead of me. Be careful though. The woods are full of wolves."

"All right," Caroline replied. "I'll be careful. I have ways to protect myself." So, with Klaus pushing the car and Caroline walking ahead through the darkness and the mist with pepper spray at the ready, they slowly but surely made their way through the woods. Caroline tried to stay brave despite the constant howl of the wolves overhead, and when one came out of the trees, she let out a shriek and sprayed it with pepper spray, hoping that would work. It did, and the wolf ran off whining.

"That was a close one," she said, sighing with relief. "It could have hurt me."

"If I wasn't pushing the car, I could have helped you," Klaus said. "I have a rapport with them."

"You do?" Caroline replied. "Are you trying to tell me that they aren't as dangerous as I think?"

"Well, some of them are," Klaus conceded. "But not all of them."

Eventually, they reached her grandmother's, where everything was eerily quiet. Caroline called out and expected her grandmother to come running out and hug her, but she didn't. Then, she noticed blood tracked all over the porch and steps.

"Oh, my god," she cried, hand over her mouth. "I hope she's all right. We have to get inside!"

"I wouldn't bet on it," Klaus said, his voice heavy as he studied the blood trail. "Those look like wolf tracks. You remember how I told you that not all wolves were harmless?"

"Yeah," Caroline replied and swallowed. "I remember." She took Klaus' hand and the two of them went inside. Caroline turned on the light and gasped when she saw that the place had been trashed. "Do you think the other rooms are like this?" She asked.

"Yeah," Klaus nodded. "And just to warn you, we might find a body."

"A body?" Caroline asked, her eyes wide. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "Your grandmother could be dead. She probably is. I think we're past 'Ifs' at this point."

They explored the second floor of the house, and when they reached the closed door of Caroline's grandmother's room, Klaus told her to stay in the hallway while he investigated.

"Well?" Caroline asked after a few minutes. "What's the verdict?"

"You might not want to come in," Klaus told her. "Her body's in the bed and it…it's not pretty."

But Caroline ignored him and ran into the room anyway, bursting into tears as she noticed the blood spattered walls and the body of the woman who had once been her grandmother, but was now so ripped apart and chewed on that she was barely recognizable.

"Oh, my god," Caroline cried when she could finally get a breath. "I think…I think I'm going to throw up." She turned to go to the bathroom, but only made it into the hallway when she was overcome with nausea.

"Go outside," Klaus told her. "I'll deal with this."

"Okay," Caroline replied. She then impulsively put her arms around him and gave him a hug. "Thank you for all your help," she said and sniffled. "I know you never asked for any of this."

"It's not a problem," Klaus assured her. "I'm glad to help."

Caroline then let him go and heeded his advice to go wait on the deck while Klaus cleaned up the mess. She was nervous now. Even the slightest sound made her jump. And so when the wolf came back, she shrieked as loudly as she could and went for her pepper spray, but unlike with the smaller wolf, it seemed to have no effect. The wolf knocked her to the ground and pinned her there, its breath hot on her skin, its teeth sharp and obvious even in the darkness.

"Help!" Caroline cried, although she didn't know if Klaus could hear her. "Help!"

At that moment, the front door burst off its hinges and another wolf bound out onto the deck.

Well, that's it, Caroline thought to herself. If I wasn't dead before, I sure as hell will be now, since it's two against one. She tried to fight, but gave up after a few seconds, realizing to her surprise that the second wolf, which was roughly the same size as the first, seemed to be on her side. It was lighter in color than the first, who blended in to the darkness, and stood over Caroline protectively, snapping and clawing every time the darker wolf got near. Finally, he let out a growl, pounced on the other wolf, and ripped its throat out, dragging the body down the steps and then, once it was gone, coming back to nuzzle her.

"Thank you," she said and patted its head. "I don't know where you came from, but I know if you hadn't shown up, I'd be as dead as my grandmother."

It then took a few steps away from her and she watched in shock as it began to shift and change and soon, the naked figure of Klaus stood before her. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Caroline replied. "Are you cold? Where did you leave your clothes?"

"That's it?" Klaus asked, eyebrow raised. "You're not gonna express terror at the fact that I'm a werewolf?"

"You saved me," she said, coming over and running her hands over his bare body and then giving him a kiss. "Why would I be scared of you?"

"Because people usually are," Klaus replied with a shrug. "Even though it's only a few of us, like our friend who killed your grandmother, who are truly dangerous."

"I'm glad you're not," Caroline replied. "Now, why don't you go put your clothes on? Are they inside?"

"Yeah," Klaus replied. "They are." They went inside and Caroline watched him dress. Then she said, "I'll call the police so they can deal with this. And since this place is a mess, can I live with you for the time being? Sorry if that's presumptuous, but…"

"No, it's fine," Klaus assured her. "I have plenty of room. My only condition is that you have to keep making me those cookies. Can you do that?"

"Sure," Caroline replied. "Are you positive that's your only condition?"

"No," Klaus shook his head. "I hunt. And I have a group of friends who hunt. They come over sometimes to, you know, prepare kills and stuff. Would that bother you?"

"Please," Caroline smiled and took his hand. "After this, nothing would bother me!" She called the police and a tow truck and while both her car and her grandmother's body were being dealt with, she grabbed the rest of the cookies she'd brought and went with Klaus to his house where he gave her one of his shirts to wear while her clothes were in the dryer. He took a quick shower and then came back to join her in the living room, offering her a beer and feeling very surprised when she put her arms around him.

"I hope this isn't weird cause you know, you and I aren't complete strangers, but…I think I just might like staying here. I don't want to go back to Grandma's. At least not right away. Too many bad memories."

"I don't blame you," Klaus told her. "You can stay here as long as you like."

"Well, aren't you sweet?" Caroline smiled and kissed him again. Then, she checked his refrigerator and began pulling various ingredients out: cocoa powder, eggs, sugar, stuff like that.

"What are you doing?" Klaus asked.

"Brownies," Caroline replied. "Nothing like baking to brighten a place up."

Klaus let her do what she would and when his friends came to visit, despite (or perhaps because of), the late hour, the entire place smelled like brownies, which, to Klaus' surprise, really endeared her to his friends when they found out she was responsible for it.

"Well, your friends seem to like me," Caroline remarked when they left and she and Klaus were alone in each other's arms again, two beers on the table in front of them. "That's a good sign."

"Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter," Klaus replied. "You're staying with me."

"I know that," Caroline replied and kissed him. "But it helps." Then she chuckled.

"What?" Klaus asked.

"I think this is what Grandma had planned all along: you and me together. I'm kind of glad I don't have to see her gloat, though." Caroline told him.

"Wouldn't surprise me," Klaus agreed. She was a shrewd old lady. We'll have to thank her someday."

"To Grandma?" Caroline asked and held up her beer.

"Yes," Klaus nodded. "To your grandmother. A sneaky woman who had the ability to know what people needed even before they did."

"Hear, hear," Caroline agreed, clinking his glass and leaning against him as the moon shone through the open windows and a soft wolf howl sounded outside their window.

 **The End**


End file.
